3D printer helps difficult hip replacement

April 13, 2013

Hip replacements have been around for a long time. It is typically done in people with joint damage from arthritis or injuries who have not responded to other treatments. Hip replacement surgery entails removing bone and cartilage in your hip joint and replacing it with an artificial joint (prosthesis).

But what about those who have complicated cases or unusual deformities that a standard replacement wouldn't work? In the case below a young lady Brooke Hayes has suffered severe hip pain for several years but the surgery to fix her hips would be too complicated. In the past this meant few options.

Now, doctors at Mayo Clinic are using 3D printers to enable
customized joint replacement surgeries. Doctors send 3D file of the patient's CT scan to a 3D printer which will then print out a 3D model of patient's hip joint.

Based on this 3D model doctors could make a plan for the surgery procedure first to increase the accuracy during the real procedure. Then they send the 3D model to patients' joint manufacturer to make a customized implant. The implants used in hip replacement are biocompatible and made to resist corrosion, degradation and wear.

Followed by rehabilitation, hip replacement can relieve pain and restore range of motion and function of hip joint.

Many patients like Brooke Hayes can now have a successful surgery and better quality of life. "I just couldn't wait to heal up so I could go to do things that I have been wanting to do for the last several years." says Brooke Hayes.